


planned obsolescence

by jdphobe



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Gen, enjoy my aguri sadstuck, shiroswap, uhh theres hints of koroagu but i would not consider it a shipfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 13:24:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18053327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdphobe/pseuds/jdphobe
Summary: The children are singing a choir in honor of the day he tore her heart out.Shiroswap AU. Because Yanagisawa is a boring-ass villain, and I wanted Aguri to be able to experience the bitterness she deserved.





	planned obsolescence

The children are singing a choir in honor of the day he tore her heart out.

Aguri Yukimura takes a step forward, creeping closer to the edge of the underbrush. The apprentice follows closely, his breath heavy. She places a firm hand on his shoulder. They can only hope it will be over soon.

The ballad rises over the school and crescendos down the valley.

"Happy birthday to you." They chant. It's a rallying cry. Unification against an unending hopelessness. A candle flickers in the darkness, casting light upon the monster's wide grin.

It's a celebration of life in the face of death, and it _drives her fucking mad._

She points forward, finger never once wavering. The command is clear.

This ends once and for all.

* * *

 It comes out of nowhere.

One moment they're crowded around their teacher, high spirits piercing the atmosphere. The next, he's flung aside, his carefully crafted cake skidding across the dirt.

Two figures emerge from the forest. One dons white cloaks, and the other a dark hood that conceals even his face. His skin writhes and bubbles, as if desperately trying to break free from his flesh.

Nagisa thinks he feels a little sick.

"Happy birthday." The one in white approaches.

"...Shiro." Korosensei murmurs. He defensively hovers in front of his students, a tentacle held out.

"No need for that." Shiro's voice is ice. "I won’t hurt the kids unless you make me. I'm only here to give the gift of the world’s cruelest death to _you._ "

They don't get a word in. The boiling man unzips his hood, yellow eyes piercing the darkness. His voice is strained. "Sensei. You know who I am, don't you?"

Korosensei lets out the smallest whimper. Nagisa thinks he catches the slightest quiver of his tentacle. He doesn't speak.

"You don't even give him the privilege of recognition. Typical." Shiro spits. "Then I will introduce him to your students. Meet The Reaper - At least, the second one. He strived to follow in the footsteps of the murderer in front of you."

The copycat slinks forward, his steps uneven and awkward. Tentacles burst through the back of his hoodie. Korosensei darts to shield his students, but it's too late. The man explodes into tentacles. The air tornadoes around them.

Nagisa squints through the debris, agape at what looms over them: A writhing pile of baren flesh, with sunken eye sockets, and jutting teeth. Dozens of tentacles thrash and squirm as the creature seems to barely hold back its wrath. Letting out ragged breaths and frustrated moans, it never once takes its eyes off of Korosensei.

"Today he finally gets your attention." Everything is still. Even the monster stands, shaking in place as if waiting for an ‘okay'. "But before you can have your reunion, I have one more introduction to make."

For the first time, Shiro pulls down their hood. And in an instant, Nagisa sees the color drain from Korosensei's face as it fades into a shock blue.

"Hello, Mister Reaper."

* * *

Aguri Yukimura is dead. Korosensei knows that for a fact. He'd held her in his arms and gently clasped her hand as she sputtered for breath. Her blood had stained his hands, yet she'd gazed at him so kindly. Aguri Yukimura had died, and only asked one thing of the man responsible: "Look after the E-Class".

She'd said he would make a wonderful teacher.

His mind rushes at a million miles a minute. There's no mistaking it. With a voice and a face all too famil-

SLAM.

He's flung across the campus, crashing hard into the building. He gasps for air as a breathtaking pain throbs across his body. He desperately attempts to stand but is struck down once more as something humongous flips overhead. A deafening thump and the splinter of wood rocks his eardrums. A tentacle lashes him once, then twice. Again and again and again. He attempts to roll onto his side, grasping for solid ground with a pathetic sputter.

"He's had the same painful modifications as your teacher, of course." A voice rings out. A tentacle whips across his face; Fleshy and throbbing, pained and inhuman.

His student-- Driven to this... No.

"Though he begged for them, unlike the stubborn boy, or my beloved sister."

Aguri-- It couldn't be... _No!_

"...It's crazy to imagine. The guy who overpowered you singlehandedly as a normal human with both tentacles and such loathing. He can take you out in an instant!"

_His students! What about his students!? They're in danger!_

"DIE." His first pupil demands, in a voice run ragged.

Korosensei struggles to his feet, narrowly dodging a blow.  "Get away!" He shrieks, head whipping side to side. He's not even sure he has a headcount on them before he's struck down once more. The ground tremors and the air explodes violently as his pupil leaps off of the roof. Even with his speed, Korosensei can't seem to find a bearing.

"You're still worried about them. Cute." Shiro spits. It's a voice dripping with hatred. It can't possibly belong to her. She'd have never-! Not at her students! But he can't even get a decent glance at her. He's too busy spiraling across the ground and across the air. "You should be. That was a sonic boom. His tentacles start at a speed somewhere around Mach 2. But they can reach Mach 40. He's in every way your superior! Not only that, but unlike some kids, he took his tentacles readily and safely! He knew what he planned to do, and he shared the same motive as the first Reaper..."

He just barely catches himself from crashing into the barrier. Explosions rupture as blow after blow come down upon him. He can hear his students scream in panic- Or is that pain!? He finds panic overtaking him as well.

**_"Bloodlust!"_ **

* * *

He screams many times, but it never once sates Aguri.

The apprentice's massive tentacles crack and whip across the night. The Reaper's desperate shrieks are almost cartoonishly goofy as he attempts to dash out of the way. They're pathetic. They're degenerate. He can't even take this seriously.

She recalls a pair of collected, calm, and all-too-empty eyes meeting hers across the glass.

"...There is one difference between even him and you, however." She spits. "His tentacles were designed with continuous operation in mind. A prototype of my late fiance's. He's not designed for longevity. He needs no upkeep. He's ‘disposable', if you will." How keen, and how predictable of Yanagisawa to be so ready to throw people out like garbage. "...He's theoretically perfect. Not only is he stronger than you, but there's not even risk of him exploding at death. He only has three months to live in exchange for these powers, and it's doubtful he'll even make it that long. But that was a sacrifice he was willing to make."

The apprentice's form creaks and shudders, yet Aguri feels their hearts beating as one.

"Don't you get it, Mister Reaper!? He's dying! He's killing himself!" She snarls. "For you! He's willing to throw away his very life over you! Because of you! He hates you so fiercely he'd die to end you! This is your doing! Your fault!" She steps forward, robes billowing behind her. Her fist trembles, and her abdomen aches. "You remain a killer! How's _that_ for something to make your students lose all respect?"

She only wishes she could see the look on his face. Perhaps that would satisfy the carnal bloodlust rising in her chest.

A hand comes shooting out of the dark, gripping her wrist so tight it aches.

"Aguri! You can't!"

Akari stands trembling, wild desperation in her voice.

"What?" Aguri hisses, yanking herself away.

"...You can't kill him!" Akari's voice is quiet, yet fierce. Aguri steps away, lips drawn back into a grimace. "I… I know the plan, but you can't. He's not-"

"I _‘can't'!?_ " Aguri shouts over her. "You know better than anyone, Akari! How long I rotted! How much I suffered!" Her heart is pounding in her ears. "You're the one who recklessly endangered yourself to help me ‘get revenge' on him!"

"And I can't let you make the same mistake!"

"Mistake!? _Mistake!?_ " Far from it! This is her magnum opus! Her penultimate hour! Her last stand! "What you pulled was only a ‘mistake' because I never meant to get you caught up in my nonsense in the first place! You are a child! And you are my baby sister! I never wanted you to get hurt! But this is my decision, and I'm well aware of the consequences!"

_"He's not a bad person, Aguri!"_

Not a bad person!? He's a murderer of hundreds! A calculating, cold sociopath, who'd attempted to latch his hooks into her from day one! The man who'd been an abysmal excuse of a cruel human being from the start, driven mad with power, to the point of ravaging the lab, and killing dozens more!? Is that what Akari considers a person of virtue? Perhaps Aguri had fallen for that wounded and lost facade in the past, but reality had pierced her like a spear to the chest, and she would never have the wool pulled over her eyes again.

"It's an act, Akari! Don't tell me you're that dumb!"

And yet, her sister stands firm. "He saved my life!"

Now _that_ surprises her. But she’s not about to be phased. "To prove a point!"

"He's been here for us all year!"

"To keep a meaningless promise!"

" _To you!_ He never meant to get you hurt!"

"Like hell! He never once cared enough to listen! I was a game to him! A distraction!"

"...That's not true! _He loved you!_ " Akari's voice is run ragged. She's shaking like a leaf. "You can't make me make this choice, Aguri. You _can't_ \--"

...Can't make the choice between _what!?_ Her own sister's peace, or the life of a monster!? Has she truly fallen for that!? Has he truly won her over!? There's a ringing in Aguri's ears. She steels herself and quells any last hesitations that chain her down.

"...In that case, you've already made your decision."

She reaches into her pocket and retrieves antimatter of her own. She holds the needle to her neck and pierces the skin. She never once breaks eye contact with Akari.

"This. Ends. Tonight."

* * *

Akari Yukimura can hardly breathe.

Her one and only sister's veins bulge and throb, an inhuman red creeping down past her collarbone, and up towards her cheek. "...The boy and I aren't so different, really." She murmurs, taking an uneven step forward. Her arms twitch. "...I'm prepared to die here too. I have been. For a long time."

Akari rushes forward. "No-! I can't lose y-"

With an abrupt and superhuman motion of her arm, Akari's tossed aside. She's knocked off her feet, tumbling to the ground. Body sore and heart racing, she scrambles to find her footing. Aguri's head is turned towards her, eyes cold.

"...The Reaper took everything from me. My health. My fiance My youth. My innocence." She spits. "And now my little sister. Don't you get it?"

Akari searches desperately for words. Anything to get through to her. To say: ‘No. No. Nonono-- That's not it'.

Aguri doesn't give her that chance. "I don't give a damn about my life anymore!" She cries, ripping off her cloak. "I _will_ kill him!" Her limbs convulse grotesquely, but she hardly seems bothered. With one last icy look, she murmurs "Goodbye, Akari", before bolting past at a speed beyond even Korosensei's.

In a moment, she’s upon him. "DIE, Reaper!" He can't even see it coming. He's sent spiraling towards the ground. Dust explodes around him. She strikes him once. Then twice. Again, again and again. Akari's knees buckle, and she comes crashing to the ground. She stares at her shaking hands and desperately tries to hold back a sob.

Nagisa rushes to her side. He firmly grabs her shoulder, panic rising in his own voice.

"What's going on!?"

...She should have said something sooner. But she'd been too damn afraid. She hadn't wanted to lose Aguri!

And now look where that had led her!

Nagisa gently shakes her. "That's… That's Yukimura-sensei, Kayano!"

_"I know that!"_ She snaps.

"She's dead!"

"No! She's not! She's never been!"

She still remembers the night in the lab: The smoke and the smell of burnt metal; The sickening creak of the building; and the smell of something so much more visceral and wrong than mere destruction. Blood everywhere.

Her sister's blood, too.

"Korosensei said-"

_"Korosensei was wrong!"_

The thing had flown off into the night sky. But a pulse had remained, however shallow. Aguri had been rushed to medical attention. Her heart had stopped twice.

The only survivor. Yanagisawa and the rest of the scientists had been caught in the explosion.  
“An experiment gone wrong” They'd said. But Akari had seen the monster. And so had Aguri.

At first, she'd begged to get in contact with him: The other survivor. To anyone who would hear her out.

Her tone changed soon enough.

"Did- did you know about this!?" Nagisa demands.

Akari's breath hitches.

"Why didn't you tell anyone!?"

It wasn't that she hadn't seen the note. And it certainly wasn't that she hadn't seen Aguri's pacing. Her mad ramblings and her anxious tics. The way she'd fallen reclusive. "Bedrest", she'd said. Ha! Akari had seen through that in an instant!

She'd transferred into the E-Class and seen it for herself. How could she not? Something had tried to kill her beloved sister, and even worse, had planted such seeds of unrest within her. She'd come to find the beast that drove Aguri to such misery.

She'd found Korosensei.

"I was scared!"

"Of what!?"

Aguri caught her in due time, but Akari had been one step ahead.

Aguri demanded she stay out of it. That it was none of her business, and that it was too dangerous.

But with tentacles blossoming from her nape, Akari wouldn't have taken ‘no' for an answer. Her only goal was to kill the monster that had nearly taken her sister's life.

...Until it wasn't.

"I didn't want to lose either of them!"

"L-Lose them!?"

"Don't you get it!? She wants him dead!"

"I figured that much!"

Aguri had demanded - no - _begged_ her not to tell Korosensei of her survival. And when the time came, Kayano hadn't. Even seeing the heartbreak in Korosensei's eye's, she'd stayed silent. When he’d saved her life, she’d kept that from Aguri, in turn. How could she _not?_ What would she have said!?

"...I didn't want to choose..." Akari whimpers, tears trailing down her face. "I didn't want them to hate me!"

Nagisa firmly grabs her shoulder, as an explosion rocks the campus. "Korosensei would never hate you--"

...Aguri, on the other hand.

She'd just been so scared of causing conflict! She'd found a place where she was really, truly happy. They'd made their own little world, and she'd been so scared of toppling it over. But now she'd waited too long, and it was crumbling all on its own.

She can't breathe, can't bring herself to look up. Korosensei's shrieks ring out across the night, and her classmates run for cover.

Some kind of sister, and some kind of student she's been.

* * *

Korosensei's tossed to the ground, and as the air's knocked out of his chest, his thoughts fly in a million different directions.

He notices it all in an instant. Kayano's hushed sobs; His pupil's heavy breaths; The way Aguri's arm writhes; The subtle turning of his stomach, and the worried cries of his students. With pinpoint accuracy, he can take it all in, but even that's not enough to dodge their combined blows. He may be fast, but they're faster. He hasn't felt this outmatched in, well… Ever.

If he's feeling scared, his students must be petrified. He just barely catches himself, pulling himself back up onto his knees. They need him now more than ever.

"Class!" He shouts, voice as steady as he can make it. "There's something I forgot to mention in my earlier lesson." He just barely dodges a strike. "Even an assassin who's cleverly avoided all head to head battles is sure to have a number of times in life when he or she must fight with every last ounce of strength." This time he's hit head-on, tentacles flaying his skin.

Aguri stands rigid beside his pupil, eyes cold. But he can't let his mind wander to her. Not now. His students need him. And so he does not back down. He staggers to his feet. He'd promised to nurture and teach them, even in the most dire of situations. And what was more dire than this? Than the sinking feeling in his chest, and the way he can barely stay standing?

"In… My case, that would be now."

Indeed, it takes every last ounce of strength to stand strong as his pupil releases a guttural scream. Although he rushes at Korosensei, that's not what makes his knees feel weak. It's the pain behind such a cry, belonging to someone he'd never bothered to nurture before.

Korosensei meets his tackle head-on. He's sent flying back, nearly crashing headfirst into the barrier. There's no time to catch his breath. He's sent shooting towards the ground, and before he can even process the pain finds himself back in the air, darting away from his pupil's grasp. Explosion after explosion rings out as debris whips across his face. Deafening sonic booms explode, and his students struggle for footing. Twice, he's sent spiraling so hard he leaves craters in the ground. His students cry out in worry. He knows what this must look like: That he's losing. And perhaps he is, finding himself tossed around like a ragdoll. But he stands time and time again, with shakier and shakier breaths.

"...Just give it up! You can't get away this time, Reaper!" Aguri's familiar voice hisses. It had sounded so different - so altered - under the cloaks. Something sharp strikes his side, and he gasps for air. His pupil's tentacles thrust forward, wrapping around his chest as he's plunged into the air. "It's two versus one, with every intent to destroy you for the death you've sewn!"

"Aguri! I-!" He scrambles for words - Anything to say to the one he thought he'd lost. All he wants is to rush to her side, to cradle her, and ask what's happened - What _suffering_ she's endured-

Instead, he's carelessly hurled towards the ground. His pupil groans, looming above him with burning eyes.

He staggers to his feet. He whimpers and groans in pain. His pupil reaches out for him as he just narrowly skirts out of his grasp.

Surely he's suffered, too.

Beyond the bubbling flesh, and beyond the blood-curdling screams, he remembers a little boy - A tiny head peeking out the window. Despite his own father's blood strewn against the rooftop, he'd wanted nothing more than to learn the craft of death. He'd grinned eagerly, and with such zeal.  
  
"Please! Teach me how to kill!"  What sort of person _does that!?_ A boy who had not known right from wrong? Someone with much deeper seated issues? What sort of suffering had he endured, only for Korosensei to brush it under the rug?

Even then, he'd had passion. A passion that Korosensei had smothered like a flame between his fingers. He'd been given a chance to nurture a child who so desperately needed him, and instead had turned his back on the opportunity. Now it was too late to foster his growth. His talent, hopes, and dreams; All of it has been tossed out the window, just like his father's life. He's thrown away his tomorrows, and with the hatred sizzling behind his eyes… Korosensei knows exactly why.

He'd failed his student once. But he told himself ‘never again'. Nothing lived up the feeling of pride when he had seen his students succeed. He'd seen children so vulnerable - So in need of someone - And he'd reached out a hand. He truly thought Aguri had shown him the light.

Instead, it seems he'd smothered out her light as well.

She'd been so naive - So helplessly kind. Doting at him across the glass with those big doe eyes. Lonely, too. She’d shriek as a fist met her cheek. He'd heard the longing in her voice as she sat cross-legged on the floor, essays strewn around her, and donning a goofy shirt. She'd so desperately believed in a better future for herself. Perhaps even for the both of them. She was a dreamer. She'd click the pen absentmindedly, a stumped look on her face, then she'd ask him what he thought. He'd never heard that one before.

And most of all, Aguri Yukimura had been selfless.

She'd thrown away her tomorrows for him, as well.

And now, with such loathing dripping from her voice, he's no longer sure he knows the woman who'd so deeply touched his heart. Remembering the way she'd fallen limp in his arms, and the sticky blood caught between his fingers, he wonders if that's for the best.

Above him tower two old friends who only wish to end him. And the more he thinks it over, perhaps they have every right. He has undeniably and irrefutably failed them. There had to be another path he could have taken. To ease their pain, and to salvage their futures. A way to have not hit this crossroads. But he was too cruel, too close-minded, too pessimistic, too _alone_ , too **_selfish_ ** to do even that.

...Never again.

He staggers to his feet. He has students to protect, and he _will not_ fail anyone else. Perhaps, if he's lucky, he can even reach out and give his two greatest adversaries closure in a way he never could before.

No - Not ‘perhaps’. He reminds himself of the unwavering girl in the lab, and how her belief in better days never once faded.

He will.

* * *

Shiro had come to Itona when he was most vulnerable and offered a helping hand. With kind words and a soothing voice, she'd promised to ease his sorrows. She'd held him tight as he sobbed into her chest and whispered reassurance in his ear. It was everything he'd needed in his darkest hour. And for a time, he'd truly thought he'd found a home.

Instead, Shiro had torn his life apart from the very core.

The monster's strikes are precise and deadly. There's no moment of hesitation. He's faster. Bolder. Stronger. And each time he sends Korosensei spiraling to the ground, Itona can't help but wince. Tentacles lash and flare, writhing in the air.

They leave an ache in his heart. He can make a pretty good guess as to what the monster is feeling right now. The manic rush. The blistering, all-consuming red-hot pain. The way you can’t make sense of your own thoughts. And the drive: An unending determination to succeed in your goals, or else.

She'd hurriedly brought him in, and sat him down. Given him a change of clothes, and slung a blanket over his shoulders. She'd asked him what happened.

...He still remembers the way her fist shook when he told her his family had abandoned him. Even with a face buried behind snow-white cloaks, he could see a hatred burning in those eyes.

She lands her own direct attacks on Korosensei, slamming him upside the back of the head, and sending him skidding. Her own veins pulsate and throb with a sickly red. Itona can't muster nearly as much pity for her.

She'd let him stay a few days, then struck him with the offer. "It might sting little". She’d warned, needle in hand. "But no-one will be able to hurt you ever again."

‘Sting a little’, his ass! It was constant, debilitating, and utterly mind-numbing.

"It's for the greater good." She told him. "This will all be worth it."

...Had it been? He'd tried so hard to hone that power. Even as it ate away at him, she'd merely sat and nervously scrawl notes. She'd trained him fiercer, sharpened his strength, and watched him degenerate. But it was for the best! She'd repeated that fact, like a mantra.

Korosensei shrieks in pain.

"For the greater good."

...He still remembers looking out over the crowd of children playing in the spring. He'd had no objections with the plan. If they couldn't protect themselves, that was their own damn fault. Who cared if they died!?

Shiro'd clasped her fingers and gently shook her head. "We'll do what we need to." She said, more to herself, than anything. Even he could hear the waver in her voice.

That hesitance had faded with due time.

And then she'd tossed him aside. He'd failed one time too many. "You just can't do this. You're not strong enough." She'd framed it tenderly; Like a disappointed mother. But she knew how much it stung. "I don't need you anymore."

And just like the parents that had made her fists tremble in anger, Shiro abandoned Itona Horibe.

She'd made the bare minimum effort to remove the tentacles the next day. When he'd told her to get the fuck away, kicking and screaming, she'd stepped back, and simply shrugged. "Fine, then. Die. I'm done dealing with children like you."

…'Like _you._ ' Even after being used as a weapon, and as collateral damage, somehow _that’s_ what stuck with him. It took him a long time to convince himself that the E-Class wouldn't inevitably abandon him too. That this wasn't his fault.

But Korosensei had never once given up on him. Not like his parents, not like his peers, not like his uncle, and not like Shiro. And now Korosensei is going to die, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

...It twinges is the back of his gut again, at that feeling of helplessness: The voice that cries out "weak". But he pushes it back down and fixes his eyes on Korosensei. He has to believe in him. Believe that even though he's outnumbered, outpowered, and outmatched, there's still a way to achieve victory. That even the underdog can overcome brute force.

Korosensei reaches an arm out and deflects the monster's blow. He pants and winces, but his wide grin never once fades.

Itona will _never_ let that voice win again.

* * *

All it takes is a little observation to get the hang of it.

Korosensei's pupil is powerful, but he's also predictable. He's let his mind grow dull. He may outpower Korosensei directly, but he also doesn't have a full year of training in his arsenal.

Taking a strike to the tentacle is better than taking a strike to the chest. If he deflects just right, he can even see his pupil wince. He sticks to the shadows, using the debris as cover. Each time he swerves out of the way with a panicked shriek, he sees his pupil's frustration grow. That only makes him rasher, less accurate. His strategy is falling apart.

His students excitedly chitter and crowd around. As he darts past one blow, and then another, their hopes seem to grow. It lights his heart up.

It's not perfect, of course. It's all improvisation, and every assassin makes their mistakes. He takes a blow head-on, thrust backward with insane force - yet he stays strong on his feet. His students gasp.

"You can chalk THIS part up to sheer experience!" He notes. "With such skillful killers trying to assassinate me all year, I’ve had to develop a few tricks of my own!" He can almost laugh!

Aguri lands next to his pupil, shoulders tense. There's a moment of stillness as their eyes meet.

He doesn't laugh.

He forces his gaze to his pupil. "...This is where I, his teacher, must take responsibility for my pupil who's strayed from the path." And despite himself, he finds his gaze wandering back to her. "...As for you, I will gladly do the same. I don't know what's happened, and I'm, so, so, so happy to see you alive, but I will not allow you to bring harm to our students." He takes a step forward, and gently holds a tentacle out. "I don't want to fight y-"

She thrusts her fist into his gut, sending him crashing into the building. "They're _not_ my students anymore, and they **_never_ ** should have been yours." She snarls.

...Korosensei hesitates. This was the one thing she'd asked him to set out to do. And he had truly tried his hardest. But he shakes it off. Now's… Now's not the time. "Don't say that when they're listening. I know that's not true. You'll hurt their feelings."

"I'll hurt _their feelings!?"_ Aguri sputters. "Oh! _I'll_ show you how I can really hurt them, monster!" In the blink of an eye, she rushes towards the students. She knocks Kayano away, sending her tumbling to the ground a good thirty feet away.

With Kayano out of the way, his pupil unleashes a massive blast on his students. Korosensei rushes to block it, gasping as the pain overtakes his body. He almost collapses. His students shriek and mumble behind him. His tentacle quivers.

"And you'll do it a thousand times, won't you?" Aguri muses. Her face twists in disgust. "There's a point where you need to give that up, or you'll die. It's just not worth it."

Even Korosensei doesn't know quite what to say. "...It's always worth it. _You t_ aught me that!" He refutes. "What happened to y-"

Another blast of energy. Of course, he rushes to take it again. Everything aches.

"...Yeah, no. Now's not the time for small talk." Aguri spits. "It's time for you to die."

Another blast comes his way, and his students shriek in terror. But he takes it. And he'll take it a million times more if need be.

* * *

At first, it had been hard to hurt the kids.

She'd come home from that day at the river and sobbed her eyes out. It's not that she'd actually wished to cause them any harm. She… Just had to tell herself it was for the best, even if it hurt.

But greater good hadn't been the breaking point, not really. It was something about the love he showed them, and the love they returned. When she first realized who and what exactly she'd entrusted her children with, she'd been terrified. But the E-Class didn't just _like_ the teacher they'd found in The Reaper. They _adored_ him. In some ways, she'd been a little on the nose about how perfect he was.

The kids cower behind The Reaper, eyes wide like saucers. They try to stand brave, but she sees them shake and whimper. A few are even crying. Nagisa shouts out in worry, asking if ‘Korosensei' is okay. Even now, in the face of death, they worry about his safety.

That's their biggest mistake.

It's sad, but they'd never shown her the same kind of compassion. She'd tried. She really had. But there was only so much you could do for kids who'd already given up on themselves. You could hover over their shoulders and tell them they did a great job. But they only felt patronized. And of course, you could offer to lend a hand, but they'd shake it off with disgust. Because you were the _enemy_. Another piece in the system that had abandoned them.

It was a little depressing, really. And a little frustrating, too. The entire time she'd tried to nurture the E-Class, she'd been a big joke. To them, most authority figures were. She wasn't cruel, or commanding, like the rest of the staff. She hadn't wanted to hurt them! But they'd seen that goodwill as an opening. Because there was no sense trying in the E-Class. No use in fighting once you'd already hit rock bottom.

The Reaper takes another blast. His skin drips and bubbles.

He'd succeeded where she hadn't. The _serial killer!_ Of course, you give a kid a blade and a revolver and they're suddenly ready to listen! It's sick! With such glee, he'd normalized the violence that had supposedly ravaged his entire life. Planted seeds of bloodshed in the little brats' heads. And they eaten it up! Like fucking psychopaths!

But the tables have turned! Who's the killer now?

The Reaper blocks another attack. He's slower, this time. Almost too late. "...Look at what you're doing, Mister Reaper. Just give it up. Or else they're all going to die here. And it'll be all your fault. _Again._ "

There's the shock, and perhaps guilt, she's searching for in those pinprick eyes.

Again. Again and again and again. He's struck until he kneels over. He vomits in pain.

Akari's on her feet by now. "Korosensei!" She desperately attempts to return to his side. Typical. Aguri darts over and sends her tumbling her to the ground once more. "Stay out of this!"

Akari coughs. "Stop it! Please!"

Aguri doesn't dignify her with a response. She's being irrational. She turns back to The Reaper but hears the click of a gun behind her.

"Don't drag your students in any deeper." A firm voice demands. Cute. The government lapdog thinks she's scared of that? She speeds by, too fast for the human eye. And she brings her fist into Karasuma's chest. He flies backward, and collapses onto the ground.

His screwtoy rushes to his side with a scream. "Karasuma!" She takes him in her arms and gently cradles him. He groans but gives her a tough nod. _How touching._

"...I don't get why she'd-"

"...It's love. It has to be. Those sorts of dark emotions. That bloodlust; It can only be born of love. She won't be satisfied until he's torn to pieces, body and soul."

Blasts continue to echo behind her, and The Reaper continues to scream. She has a moment to spare.

She speeds to the lovebirds and kicks Irina's side. It's her turn to shriek out in pain.

Karasuma eyes his gun, but it's been flung a good twenty feet away.

"...You wanna repeat that!?" She hisses. There's certainly something this was born of and perhaps, at one point, it was love, but now it's descended into a heartbreak that can only be characterized as ‘loathing'. She strikes Irina again and again and again-

Karasuma reaches out to block a strike with his arm. Cue a sickening crack. Even he can’t help but wince in pain.

Aguri's lip curls in disgust. "You realize you're getting hurt for **_nothing_ ** , right? She _can't protect you!_ " She kicks Irina's chin. Hard. "And neither can he." She turns her back, satisfied with her attack. They'll be incapacitated for a long while, from the looks of it. "...Now that's what love really is. Not bloodlust: Vulnerability."

The apprentice has caught The Reaper in a stranglehold. He whimpers pathetically.

Speaking of vulnerability: It's time for the most powerful weapon in her arsenal.

* * *

"...You were never really a teacher. You know that, right?"

Korosensei struggles to break free of his pupil's grip. But they have him right where they want him; And that's unable to fight back.

"...You've been putting these kids in danger from the start. Knowing people would come after you. Knowing how fast you were. Knowing that the calculations could be off, and you could explode at any moment. But that didn't stop you, did it?"

Korosensei coughs desperately for air. "You asked me to--"

"I asked you to nurture them. To teach them! To love them!" Aguri snarls. "You taught them how to survive, certainly. And you taught them how to kill. But you didn't foster them: Not truly. And I'm not sure what I expected. In some ways, it's not your fault. I was stupid too. I thought you were kind. But you were never really cut from the right cloth, were you, Mister Reaper?"

His pupil's grasp tightens as he kicks and flails.

"No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't have connected with them," Aguri admits. "Because I don't think you're capable of loving people. You're cruel, and you're manipulative, and you can pretend. But you're a sociopath. I just wish I'd realized that from the start. Because then I'd have known you'd never really listen to me. And this all could have been put to rest before it got out of hand."

Korosensei's heart aches. Hearing this from her is like a thousand knives driven into his chest. He'd tried so hard _for her!_ He'd just wanted to make her proud! "I love my students more than anything!" He weakly refutes, gasping for air. "You can say what you want, but don't you dare deny that I care! _They're my world!_ "

"And you're going to end theirs. Look at what you've made of them, Mister Reaper!" She sweeps her hand across to point at the students. Bloodlust radiates behind their eyes. "...You've taught them to be just like you. _That's_ the only lesson they’ve learned."

Korosensei's struggles grow weaker.

"I asked you for one thing, on what I thought was my _deathbed._ All I asked of you was to be someone kind, someone loving. But you failed miserably. _And you failed me._ You're a monster, Mister Reaper. And you can tell yourself it's because of your unstable DNA, or your tentacles, or your risk of exploding. And the world can think that too, for all I care. But we know that it's not that. It's because you're a _killer,_ and that's _never_ going to change. "

She's right. He'd tried _s_ _o_ hard to change. But he'd never known what these students needed. He'd never been loved, and he still doesn’t know how to do it right. He'd tried to improvise, but... That just wasn't enough. Because he wasn't like her. He wasn't like them. He'd taught them all he'd known, and loved them with all his heart… But it had meant nothing. Because he'd only hurt them, too. Like everything he'd ever loved.

And looking out across the crowd of his beloved students… Seeing the heartbreak in their eyes, he knows he'll have to put them through the anguish of losing him as well. After all he’d been through - All he’d _lost_ \- how could he fathom making his dear students endure that?

In the end, that had been his greatest mistake: Letting them love him back.

...Korosensei doesn't struggle anymore.

"...No." A quiet voice peeps up.

"...Yeah! No way!" Another joins in.

"...That's insane!"

They're voices Korosensei recognizes, even without lifting his gaze. Nagisa… Maehara… Even Terasaka…

"Korosensei's done his very best to help us!" Okuda...

"He's always encouraged us to be passionate..." Fuwa…

"...He never told us to just give up on what we liked…" Sugaya...

"He taught us to put a personal spin on the things we loved, instead." Sugino...

More and more voices chime in. He recognizes each and every one.

"He always encouraged us to strive." Muramatsu...

"...It's not that he just helped us with school." Fuwa…

"He's helped us with our personal problems, too!" Justice…

"He never said ‘not today'. He was always ready to drop everything and help us." Isogai…

How could he not? They were his students. His beloved. The very thing he'd set out to protect!

"...And sure, he taught us to ‘kill', too" Chiba…

"But he also taught us to love!" Hayami…

"And to never hurt someone if there was another way to settle things." ...Yada…

"He taught us to protect ourselves." Hara…

"And to always be brave!" Okano…

...He'd never wanted them to make the same mistakes as him. So he'd vowed to do better. To teach them everything he had never learned until it was too late.

"He was never weirdly formal with us, either. He was just another one of us." Okajima...

"Even in the weird ways." Kurahashi…

_"Even in the weird ways!"_ **_Okajima..._ **

"And so he always made us laugh!" Nakamura…

And in many ways, perhaps it could have been said that he saved them. But that wasn't the entire story. Not even close. They saved him, too. They took The Reaper - The serial killer - The boy in a war-torn world - And taught him to love.

"He helped us find what we were best at and hone it." Kataoka...

"We weren't the rejects anymore. We each had something that made us truly special!" Yoshida...

"He wasn't like the other adults in our lives." Mimura…

"...He never got mad, or impatient…" Hazama…

"...And when we couldn't do it alone, he always reached out a hand. Well - Tentacle." Kanazaki…

"He really, truly, loved each and every one of us." Takebayashi…

...With all his heart. They'd made this year, this _wonderful_ year go from a second chance to a paradise in its own right. He was everything they'd never had in their world, and they were everything he'd never had in his.

"...He brought me to life! Sure, I was _technically_ assembled in Norway, but it was Korosensei who remodeled me so I could really feel! That sort of intelligence… And that sort of dedication… It's taught me what it is to be kind! What it is to be a part of a team! And... more and more about what it means to be a person every single day." Ritsu, who else…?

"...He saved my life." A short and sweet, but hard-hitting quip from Itona…

"...And mine." Kayano defiantly adds on, even from a distance.

"And _mine!"_ Karma almost seems to brag. "Which you didn't do, now, did you?"

A loud ‘thwap'.

"Now's not the time to make this into a personal attack, dipshit!" Nagisa?!

"Well, she didn't!" Of course, even now they'd find a reason to bicker. Korosensei can't help but try and stifle a chuckle. When had Karma's troublemaking antics gone from attacking him to defending him!?

"The point is… Korosensei loved us." Nagisa says.

"More than his own life." Kayano adds on.

Karma hesitates. "...And right when we needed it most."

"You always made us feel strong, Korosensei. You believed in us. So don't you dare believe any of that, like _we_ never should have believed we were worth giving up on." Hearing Nagisa say that… It's… Such a milestone. Even now, he feels like he's watching him grow every minute.

"...We never should have been shoved into a box!"

"And neither should you!"

"It's never too late!"

The kids begin to speak over each other, shouting and bickering, each with their own things to say about Korosensei.

"We changed!" Terasaka cries above the noise.

"We changed!" Ritsu cheerily shouts.

"We changed!" Itona proudly admits.

Their voices seem to come together as one. **_"We changed!"_ **

"...And you did too." Nagisa assures.

Korosensei finally finds the strength to lift his head. To see them all there, standing strong… It touches his heart. They're all looking his way. His students - His kids- The children he's come to love with each and every fiber of his being… His pride and joy - The greatest gift a teacher could receive! Every reason he's fought so hard stands right in front of him!

**_"...We love you, Korosensei!"_ **

He can't hold back the tears any longer. Perhaps he hadn't lived up to Aguri's expectations, and… While that breaks his heart, he lived up to theirs. He'd helped them - His life-changing, earth-shaking, beloved students, who'd truly needed it most. And he will _NEVER_ regret that.

His pupil lets out a growl. And Korosensei brings himself to face him. Yes - He knows - He hadn't always been right. He hadn't helped him when he'd needed it most. But it's too late for regrets. He has to set things right.

"Yeah, yeah. Real cute." Aguri sarcastically snarls. "And real naive." What's happened to her? To doubt the power their students hold? After they stood up against all odds… "You're running out of energy. And when you're gone…? I'll kill your students."

Not on Korosensei's watch. He's set out to protect them, and regardless of the source of that promise, he will _never_ let them go.

"...This year. This wonderful year I never should have given you… And the happiness you found… I'll take it all away. The same way you took everything from me. Whether you die believing you deserve it or not, you _will_ die. You're only here because you took advantage of me! Because you _destroyed my life!_ And for the grief I've felt... The suffering I've endured. Months in the hospital, and even more in mourning… I'll take your every happiness away from you. Just like you've taken mine!"

With refound vigor, he struggles to break away. To get through to her. "Aguri, I would ne-!"

**_Bang._ **

A gunshot rings out through the night. And with Aguri distracted, Kayano stands strong.

"Korosensei! Run!"

* * *

There's only one thing left for Akari to do.

She just barely registers the terrified and confused shouts of her classmates. They feel a world away. With pinpoint focus, she only has eyes on one thing.

The monster looms above her. It dropped Korosensei in the surprise of the strike. She tosses her gun to the side and retrieves her blade. She'd always been a bit better close-ranged. "I'll buy you time! Just hide somewhere and recover!"

Korosensei shouts, too. She thinks she even hears Aguri.

_"Kayano!?"_

**_"Akari!"_ **

She rushes forward. There's no time to hesitate now! She draws her blade across the monster's flesh. It lets out a snarl and attempts to strike. But she manages to dart out of the way, vision blurred. She's processing the speed of its attacks in a way no normal person could. Ha. Even without the tentacles, she's still a little inhuman, too.

She dodges another blow.

"Kayano! _No!"_

**_"REAPER, STOP IT!"_ **

There's no backing down now.

"...I've regretted it all this time. That it was my fault the class learned the truth. That I snatched away the fun times we had together… And then neglected to even tell you the full story! I was just so scared! So torn! I was a coward. I should have stepped in. I should have told you Aguri was alive, Korosensei. And I should have told you Korosensei was nothing like what you thought, Aguri. But it’s too late for that now. I just loved you both too much. And for that, I failed you. I'm sorry. Maybe in a better world, you both could have lived happily."

"No! No! You were right! Now's not the time to take this out on yourself, Kayano!"

She rushes towards the monster and takes a leap.

**_"AKARI, STOP!"_ **

"...It's okay!" She cries, spiraling down towards the monster. "You can do it if you try…! You know who taught me that? You, Korosensei! And my sister, a very, very long time ago!" With knife overhead, _she_ reassures _them_ it'll be okay.

And despite it all, she has all the same belief in herself that a certain woman in a ravaged lab had in a hug exactly a year ago, when she decided the risk was worth the reward.

* * *

Aguri’s world seems to freeze.

A tentacle pierces Akari’s chest. Her blood cascades across the night, and she falls limp to the ground.

Akari Yukimura is killed in an instant.

Aguri collapses onto her knees and screams. Her heart pounds in her ears, and she claws at the dirt. Akari is so, so still.

The Reaper falls to the ground as well, letting out soft gasps. On his knees, he crawls towards Akari, a tentacle held out and shaking.

Aguri makes it there first, slamming him aside. She takes Akari in her arms, defensively cradling her. Blood seeps into her shirt.

**_“What the fuck is wrong with you!?”_ ** She shrieks, eyes wet. The Reaper’s frozen in place. “You really had to take everything from me! Couldn’t you just _die!?_ She… She’d have--” A whimper rises in her throat as tears trail down her cheeks. She brings a hand across Akari’s face.

“This… This isn’t what I wanted-- I- I didn’t want _this--_ ” She incoherently murmurs, stumbling over her words. “M… My baby sister-- I… Didn’t wanna-- Didn’t wanna hurt her-- Why did you let this happen!?” She can’t breathe. “ _Why did I let this happen...?_ ” She brings Akari to her chest, clutching her tight. “I… I should have got her out of here-- Never should have dragged her into any of- I just… Wanted t- I had to kill-” She chokes on her words. **_“...Akari--_ ** _I’m so sorry-”_

She hugs her sister tight, and sobs.

A tentacle touches her shoulder. She jolts, and elbows away his touch. With an inhumane grimace, and a snarl rising in the back of his throat, The Reaper stares her down. His pinprick eyes blaze with the hate she’d remembered seeing in him so long ago. She feels the same inferno of hate burn bright in her own heart. And yet, with Akari so limp in her arms, she finds no strength to fight. Instead, she merely sobs louder, shrieking until her throat aches. “You’re a monster--” She bawls. _“I’m a monster--”_

He doesn’t refute it.

“Get her away from here.” He demands, voice quivering with anger. “Get her, and the rest of my students out of here. If you’re _one shred_ of the person I think you are-”

“Why the fuck should I listen to you!? I’ve spent the entire year trying to get revenge on y-”

“And I’m **_sorry!”_ **

_Sorry!? Sorry doesn’t--_

“Listen. You have no reason to trust me. And… I have no reason to trust you. But I can save her life if you just listen to me. If you get our students out of the crossfire, I can handle my apprentice.”

_“Then you’ll-!”_

“Yes. I’ll live. For now.” Korosensei snaps. The Spear of Heaven shines overhead. “I don’t have long, either way.” A blast comes their way. He just barely knocks the two of them out of the way. “And neither do you. But I can save Kayano. I promise--”

...Aguri hesitates. “Why on earth should I believe that?”

“Because I swore I’d never let myself make this mistake again! If… If I can’t do this, I’ll let you kill me yourself. I swear on my- Well- My life!”

Aguri hesitates.

“ _Please,_ Aguri.” ...He stares at her with eyes so vulnerable - So human - hiding behind that anger. Something she’s never seen in him before.

She sends a glance towards Akari, so still in her arms, and feels her stomach churn.

She stumbles to her feet and holds her close to her chest. “Fine. But only for my sister. And that’s Yukimura, to you.”

She doesn’t wait for his response. She hugs her sister tight, then speeds off.

“Get out of the battlefield!” She demands, rushing over to the students.

“B-But--” Okuda hesitantly pipes up.

“You heard him--! He’ll be just fine!”

The wind billows behind them.

“That’s not the issue here. I’m just not sure we should listen to you!”

“...As much as I hate to admit it, she has a point,” Nagisa admits. “We need to get away from here, _now._ While his attention is elsewhere.” An explosion rocks the mountain. “If we stay, we’ll get tangled up in this for sure!”

“And as much as _I_ hate to admit it, _he_ has a point,” Karma says. “But we can handle the running.” He turns to Aguri with an accusatory finger. “ _You_ handle the headcount, and keeping that thing away from us.”

She’d told herself she was through with taking that disrespectful jargon. Is she seriously about to take orders from a ragtag group of fifteen-year-olds!?

Blood drips down her hands. _Oh, yeah. She is._

“A-And hand her over to me--”

Aguri jolts, defensively holding Akari away from Nagisa. Her lips draw back into a disgusted grimace.

“If you’re going to be moving around at that speed, she could get hurt further.” He insists. “I… I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Aguri hesitates. It’s a little too late for that one.

“She’s just as important to us as she is to you. And I know that’s a big statement to make, but it’s true. So please, let us protect her. After everything we’ve been through together.”

She still recalls the first time Akari had mentioned Nagisa Shiota. A throwaway comment about a strange boy in her class. _“He sits right next to me. I’m thinking, if I prop him up just right, he’ll make a good distraction. He’s quiet, but he has this… Aura to him. I don’t know how to describe it. But I think he’ll make for the perfect lead role.”_

_‘Nagisa? Seriously?’_ She’d thought. Surely that had to be a mistake.

Only now can she can see what Akari was talking about. There’s a cold fierceness behind those bright blue eyes. He won’t take no for an answer.

“I…-”

“You might want to hurry it up!” Terasaka shouts. Rubble flies overhead.

“You guys go on ahead!” Nagisa urges. “Just give me one more second. Get out of here!” They don’t need to think it over. The students make a run for it.

...This is just the one thing she can’t trust anyone with. After being kicked down so many times, she’d come to the cold realization that it was her against the world. One slip up, one _inch_ too much faith in the wrong person, and everything she’d fought for could go to waste.

But hadn’t it, already? She couldn’t be trusted, either. Even on her own, she’d failed Akari. She hadn’t protected her from this, and she certainly hadn’t saved her from the tentacles. Akari had talked about her classmates more and more as the year dragged on, but _he’d_ always been the recurring factor. A friend she’d trusted with her life. Despite what Akari had clearly kept hidden from Aguri, there was never any doubt as to that.

Yeah. Deep down, she knows what her sister would want her to do.

She gently hands her over, careful not to touch her wound. “...I really don’t want to do this. But… She clearly cared about you. So don’t you dare let any harm come to her. If you do, I’ll kill you.”

“Good. Because I was just about to say the same thing.” W-Was that a threat!? “...Don’t worry. I won’t. She… Means a lot to me, too.”

And with that, he ever so gingerly rushes her away from the battlefield.

...Had he ever had that determination before? Had it simply been a skill that had slipped through the cracks of a system that overlooked him? Something she’d failed to see? Or had it been something nurtured across the past year? And if so, for better, or for worse?

The snakelike coldness she saw in those eyes shook her to her very core, in a way only one person ever had before. And yet, she’d never seen such confidence in Nagisa before. Was he taking steps forward? Turning into a monster? Or both?

He holds Akari close. Why is it, with that terrifying power, he’s chosen to nurture?

...She shakes her head. Now’s not the time to think that one over. She has a job to do; Someone to protect. And even if it’s too late to truly take back her mistakes, perhaps it’s not too late to make it up to her.

She turns around, finally ready to come face to face with all of her past, and all of her mistakes.

* * *

It turns out someone else is doing just the same.

A year ago, rage would have been the only thing Korosensei felt upon seeing harm come to someone he loved so deeply. Rage, or self-pity. But even if it was easier, it led nowhere, and it saved no-one.

It was love, not rage, that won wars. And it was appreciation, not sorrow, that truly let you learn from the past.

His pupil cries out with a voice full of hate. And Korosensei knows it’s too late for him. But the fault lies on his shoulders, not the boy’s.

A blast comes his way. But there’s no more dodging. No more running from his past. It’s been a long year. And it’s coming to an end, but that makes it no less profound.

And so, he reflects on it all. Even during a moment of such intensity, he allows himself to appreciate the little things. He’d never let himself do that before. Not before he sat down cross-legged on the floor of that lab, where the small things were all he had.

...The first time Nagisa had hugged him, and the ensuing explosion. The fury that had bubbled in his chest, and something else that had resided deeper: A pride at his scheme. The lovestruck goofiness he’d felt messing with Irina, and the smug satisfaction when he’d revealed he’d known her plan all along. The total humiliation that had made him bury his face in his hands on that island. And the joy he felt when his students all worked together with such a perfect plan to nearly take him out. Fear each time they were put in danger, and relief when they managed to weasel their way out of every predicament. Each time they made him laugh and each time they made him cry…!

Every time he pushed his students harder, inspired them to strive for something more. And the overwhelming delight when they went beyond his every expectation. Seeing them grow, and seeing them fight… Allowing himself to truly learn what it meant to be a teacher, and what it meant to be alive! All of it! The happiness! Sadness! Anger! Disdain! Surprise! Being given the chance to become so much more than the hateful lost man who’d stolen so many lives.

The emotions he’d experienced. The man he’d become. Because of Aguri, and for his kids… He’ll treasure it forever. Regardless of what happens next.

The light around him explodes into pure energy. Returning his blast with one of his own, Korosensei breaks through his pupil’s attack. He flies backward, cascading straight towards the barrier.

In a better world, one where Korosensei was smarter, things could have ended differently. And he’s sorry for that. But there’s no use being self pitying over the past. He can only make a vow to do better in the future. And he will.

“I’m sorry. I’ll see you on the other side. Then we can finally make some happy memories. We won’t make the same mistakes again, my student.”

He’s not sure if his pupil can hear him, or even understand him at this point. But he wants to believe, when he stares into those wild mesmerized, eyes.

“Let’s study together, okay?”

He swears he catches a smile as he spears his pupil through the heart.

With an explosion of dust and light, the little boy peeking out the window is finally put to rest. The night falls silent, and the wind dies. Korosensei gives himself a moment of respite, before floating to the ground, and looking across the battlefield.

There’s one last thing he needs to put to rest before he can join him. He hopes his pupil won’t mind the wait.

* * *

No-one cheers when the Reaper 2.0. dies. Aguri can’t even bring herself to feel pity.

She’d emphasized with him. She really had. When he’d come begging to her for power, she’d only seen the scared little boy who The Reaper had hurt. He hadn’t scared her. Never once. Because you could hide that vulnerability behind cloaks or behind faces or behind an act. But once you were hurt, there would always be a little piece of that sadness inside of you.

That said, all that empathy had sort of gone out the window when he laid a finger on her little sister. She’d told him to _stop!_ But he hadn’t listened to her. Had he lost his goddamn mind!?

_...Had he?_

Her own veins pulse and throb. Oh Jesus. What has she done?

She shakes it off. There’s no time to worry about that. She makes her way towards Akari. But The Reaper’s beat her to it. He holds his tentacles out, as he carefully takes her body from Nagisa’s grasp.

_“What the hell are you doing-?”_

The Reaper and the students all stare her way. “...I told you to trust me.” He reassures. “I’ll take care of this.” He delicately props her up in his arms and turns towards his students. “Class: The past you’ve lost will never come back. I myself have… Made so many mistakes.” He hesitates. Tiny tentacles descend towards Kayano. “But we can learn from the past, so we don’t repeat it.” And in their grasp, something crimson.

The students sputter. “What’s-”

“Her blood and somatic cells. I gathered them up before she fell to the ground, and stored them in a sterile membrane I made with compressed air.”

“I-In the middle of battle!?” Nagisa sputters. Even Aguri finds herself taken aback. No. There’s _no way-_

“I set aside the tentacles meant for protecting you. Those were the only ones I didn’t use for fighting.” ...To think he’d survived without fighting at full force… It’s… Baffling. And infuriating, too. But his cause, it’s… Uncharacteristic. And so, so relieving. “Just give me a moment.” He chimes. “I just need to string these cells together. One by one by one.” His tentacles spin and weave, whirring like a drill.

“...Faster. More accurate.” He continues. Her skin begins to seamlessly close up. Aguri can’t look away. “I’ve been improving my skills all year long.” He admits.

No...

“So… If the same thing were to happen again, it wouldn’t have the same tragic ending.”

_Nonononono..._

He doesn’t look her way. “I never wanted to lose someone like that again.”

Aguri feels something inside of her break.

He doesn’t glance up from his work. “Some cells can’t be repaired, so instead I’ll leave gaps and fill them with my mucus. Within a few days, her own cells should regenerate and replace it.” He explains. His smile never once falters.

She steps closer. Akari’s chest glows. He’s so gentle, so precise.

“I’m a tad low on blood. Type AB donors, please!”

Students hold out their arms without hesitation. Even Itona extends his kindness to her sister.

Aguri’s hand shakes as she contemplates offering her own arm. But she quickly thinks better of it, seeing her veins pulse red.

His tentacles snake over and pierce their skin. “Nakamura! Gather up that birthday cake and put it in my mouth!”

Nakamura practically chokes. “What!? But it’s a smashed up pile of dirt covered garba-”

“I need to replenish my energy!” He wails. **_“And_ ** I wanted to eat it the whole fight! _I call the thirty-minute rule!”_

“It’s the thirty-second rule!” Rio refutes with disgust. But she kneels down and begins to scoop up the cake, nonetheless.

...When had he turned so goofy? Of course, she’d seen it, but she’d never once believed it. There’d had to be some sort of sinister intent hiding behind that wide smile. People didn’t change. Not that fast. And not like _that._

Nakamura shovels the cake into his mouth.

Akari’s wound closes up completely, leaving not a stitch or a mark. The Reaper carefully places her on the ground. “Now, once her heart starts working, she’ll come back to life. It should go perfectly, according to my “What To Do For A Gut-Shot Student” Manual.”

His **_what!?_ **

_“WHO’D EVEN ANTICIPATE SUCH A DISASTER!?”_ The students scream with the same horror and disgust.

He hardly seems particularly bothered by their outcry. “I suppose I can say this now. If your bodies were ever torn to pieces, I was prepared to put them together one by one. As long as I’m around, that is.” He draws his fingers across Akari’s chest, placing them in position. “It’s simply what a teacher must do... To properly see his student.”

And as The Reaper shocks Akari, Aguri’s taken back to a rainy day in the lab. His genuine confusion at his disciple’s betrayal, and the simple advice she’d offered up. As sad as it was, he’d struck her as someone who never truly _listened_ to other people.

That doubt had come to a head on that fateful night, when she’d held him close, and begged him not to go. Even then, she’d known he never would have taken _just_ her words to heart.

...But seeing what beliefs he holds dear even now, perhaps she’d given him too little credit… Had too little faith in how much he’d treasured her words.  

Akari coughs, gasping for air. And before she can even sit up, Aguri bolts over, wrapping her in a bear hug.

“W-Wha-!?” Akari sputters. She looks around and finds The Reaper standing above her. “Did… Did you save me…? Again?”

He gives a halfhearted chuckle and puts her hair back up, just the way she likes it. “As many times as it takes.” He reassures. “...I told you. I made a promise.”

Aguri holds her close, focusing on the rise and fall of her chest. That promise… He’d… He’d truly, really, protected them all.

...Maybe she’d been even more naive than she thought. He’d always shown her kindness. That’s why she’d asked him to honor that promise in the first place! Because Kunugigaoka had _scared_ her. It made her worry for the futures of those children. She’d worried about his future, too. Because… She’d seen someone who terrified her, who had the power to destroy. But she’d also seen, or perhaps just _hoped to see_ , a spark of kindness in those dark eyes. It was something she’d wanted to foster herself - But thought she’d lost the chance to.

The students’ eyes are all on them. They’re too hesitant to come close. Akari’s staring their way.

Aguri focuses on Akari’s heartbeat for one moment more, then slowly pulls away. “...I’m sorry, Akari. You should be with your friends.”

Akari blinks. She seems to finally come back to the reality of the situation. “W-Wait-- Aguri. What happened? _Are you still going to hurt Korosensei--?”_

Here’s the thing. She really hadn’t planned to survive. At least, she hadn’t seen it as particularly likely during her moment of impulse. Waking up in that hospital bed… It had been both a miracle and a surprise.

They told her her heart had stopped not one, but _two_ times. She’d lost tons of blood. Her injuries were going to take months to recover from.

And, most importantly, “You were the only survivor.”

The lab had been ravaged completely. “A murder scene”, they described it as. There’d been over a hundred casualties.

And yet, he’d been her first priority. “No. There was one more person in there! I’m telling you! He survived!” The Reaper. She’d begged anyone who would listen. The nurses. The police. The FBI. “Please-- I need to get to Kunugigaoka Junior High!”

“Not in your condition, ma’am!”

They’d called her crazy. They’d called her irrational. And so, they left her to rot with her thoughts alone.

They didn’t explain a shred of it to her. “It’s a federal secret.” Like hell she didn’t know! She’d been there for all of it! Every low-brow trick and unethical experiment her fiance’d pulled! She’d watched the whole shitstorm go down!

Even he hadn’t made it out of the disaster. The untouchable. The irrational. Her to-be-husband. “I’m sorry for your loss” people would tell her. And as the bruises faded, and the scars healed, her feelings churned like the tide. The loss of a loved one, indeed, and the sadness it sowed. The anger that rose in her chest as she remembered being pummeled on the lab floor. Had he _blamed_ her for crawling to The Reaper!? She’d just wanted someone who would even bother to _pretend_ he cared! And of course, the strange, and unexpected safety she felt in his absence. It’s not that she’d ever wanted harm to come to him. She loved him! But the terror she felt in his presence was impossible to put into words.

Kotaro Yanagisawa died alone and in pain. His face and body alike were found ravaged. It took him seventeen minutes to bleed out. The last time Aguri saw him he’d beat her senseless. They’d never said goodbye, and Aguri’s still not sure she would have wanted to.

He was one casualty out of 127. She truly was the miracle. The lucky one.

...She’d wondered what the other families were thinking.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know The Reaper was a serial killer. It was the first thing she’d made sure to let him know she was aware of when he’d given her that cool, collected smile. Who _knew_ how many dozens of people he’d killed before being brought into the lab. But he’d been her friend, too. She’d loved him. And she’d really wanted to believe someone like that could change.

Hell! She’d always believed it as a fundamental ideal! It was never too late. That’s why she put so much faith in the E-Class students! She hated the concept of someone being told it was time to give up on them; That they’d fallen too far. That wasn’t true… Was it?

She’d believed it of everyone. She’d believed it of her kids, she’d believed it of Yanagisawa, and she’d believed it of The Reaper.

Her kids never once believed it of themselves. Yanagisawa made her life a living hell until the day he died. And regardless of whatever change he seemed to have shown her, The Reaper tore hundreds of lives and bodies apart on March 13th, 2014.

They were almost, alike: Yanagisawa, and The Reaper. They had the same dead eyes, and the same will to do _anything_ to reach their goals. She’d loved them both, and she’d served as someone to catch them both during the brief moments of respite. They were both manipulative, cold, and capable of ruining futures. Neither of them had ever believed a word she’d said. And she’d never - _Never_ \- given up on either of them.

...She was tired of keeping faith.

She’d spent her entire life living for other people. Trying to please. Trying to be as kind as she could possibly muster. And where it had gotten her was abused, widowed, and abandoned in a hospital bed.

With time - With the bruises - The piercing wound faded, too.

...She finally let herself be angry. Because she hadn’t deserved that. It had never once been her fault. Her fiance, her family, and her unlikely companion: They had all left her to fall. Even though she’d caught them without complaint every. Single. Time.

Never again. She’d survived, against all odds. And she was going to make the most of it.

And it was only then that she’d truly realized the situation she’d put those kids in.

_“You’d make a wonderful teacher...”_ What was she _thinking!?_ Leaving those at-risk children with a serial murderer!? In her desperation to give him some sort of closure - Some sort of chance to finish what she could not - She’d completely disregarded their safety. To think of someone so manipulative, so cold, and so cruel alone with those children… She could only dread to imagine what sorts of sorts of suffering that vicious, bloodthirsty monster was putting them through...

The Reaper rubs gentle circles in Akari’s back, checking her up and down for injuries, and reassuring her it’s going to be okay.

“Aguri--?” Akari repeats. She’s quieter this time, staring at her with pleading - Scared, even - Eyes.

Aguri shakes her head. “No, no.” She absentmindedly reassures. “Not right now, Akari. I’m… Not going to hurt him.”

Akari breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I- I’d love to see my friends, then.”

Aguri stands up and gives her some space. Not a single student moves.

“I- Er--...” She sputters. “You… You can hug her. I’m not going to hurt you.” They look at her with fear. She takes one step back, then another.

...She’s the monster.

Karma steps forward. “Okay? Seriously? Leaving this up to _me?_ ” He struts forward. Of course. He’d always fancied himself the bold type. “I, for one, am not wimping out because I’m scared of Kayano’s psychopathic sister.” He leans down and wraps Akari in a hug. “Don’t scare us again like that, asshole. You’ve already given us enough heart attacks for one year.”

The rest follow. With one teary hug after another, the 3-E class tackles Akari. Nagisa’s buries his face in her shoulder, and Okuda suffocates her in a hug. Terasaka affectionately rubs his knuckles across her head, while Rio makes a snide comment about her _really_ losing her breasts there.

Akari pushes her with a shriek and a laugh. But Karma only dogpiles onto the mockery. She elbows him with another snicker.

...She’s truly made some precious friends over the past year.

“The important thing is not repeating your mistakes. And so I did the best job I could.” The Reaper says, more to himself than anything. Aguri looks his way, and searches for something - _anything_ \- to say.

He collapses before she gets the chance.

Every head shoots towards him.

“Phew! I’m beat!” He admits, sprawled on the ground. That smile of his doesn’t falter. It’s only now she begins to process just how _wounded_ he looks. “Class… What kind of assassins would let a dying target escape?”

The students gasp. Even Aguri feels her heart skip a beat. _W- What!?_ Right now!?

“Don’t you see? It’s killing time. Fun times… Are bound to end. That’s what a classroom is all abou-”

**_“W-Wait!”_ ** She demands. “Waitwait - _Please_ wait a moment.” She stumbles over her words. “Can - Can I just have a moment with y- With him? Before you - While you - Try to… Figure out what you want to do?”

The kids are staring at _her_ now, eyes wide.

...She’s still not sure how she feels about The Reaper. But he’s clearly not exactly who she thought he was. And she’s not going to pass up her chance at closure. Not this time. Never again.

“No way! We’re not leaving him with you!”

“You’ll just kill him!”

“I- I don’t mean to be rude, but this is our thing! We’ve been practicing all year!”

The sound of footsteps approach.

“...Yeah. That’s a horrible idea.” Karasuma, with a torn shirt, and a makeshift splint. Irina’s close behind, a massive bruise on her chin. Aguri suddenly feels sick to her stomach.

The Reaper seems to mull it over for a moment. “No, no. That would… Be nice, I think.” He admits.

Karasuma sputters. _“We can’t seriously just let you-”_

“I trust her.” The Reaper reassures.

Aguri can’t tear her eyes away from their injuries. “No - No. It’s fine if you don’t trust me-”

“See? She’s not rotten. She’s merely strayed from the path. To be honest, I don’t blame her for being angry. Although I cannot forgive her for harming any of you.” The bickering falls silent. “You don’t have to trust her. I don’t expect you to. And I would usually never ask this of you. But…” He glances upwards. “My minutes are numbered. I think I’d like to have this.”

Nagisa seems ready to argue, but his shoulders lower, and he relents. “...Okay, Korosensei.”

Even Karasuma doesn’t have the guts to argue with a dead man. “...Very well.”

The Reaper gives a satisfied smile. “Okay, then. Give us a minute alone. Shoo, shoo.” He waves a tentacle. “I’ll be with you in one moment. Sharpen your weapons. It’s almost time.”

...Slowly, but surely, the adults herd the kids away and into the building. Even then, Aguri feels a couple dozen eyes watching her from the windows.

She awkwardly sits down next to him, feeling the grass in between her fingers. The wind has begun to die down. There’s a long moment of silence.

“...Mister Reaper, I-”

“...Nononono.” He scolds. “Korosensei works just fine. It’s the name Kayano gave me, you know.”

Ha. Of course, it’s Akari who’d first called him that. “...You know that’s not her real name, right?”

“Of course. But she also never asked me to stop. Regardless of origin, a name can hold a lot of meaning. I think… She feels it surmises her identity over the year: The things she’s fought for and the friends she’s made. Both of which are lovely accomplishments. Who am I to take that piece of her identity away from her?”

“...When did you turn so sappy?”

“It’s been a long year,” Korosensei admits. “And I learned from the best.” He chuckles awkwardly. What had happened to the way their conversations had flowed so easily and heartily all that time ago?

“...We don’t have much time.” He admits.

The Spear of Heaven shines overhead.

“...We don’t.” She agrees.

He looks her over. “Do you think you’ll survive?”

Her veins are beginning to ache. “I don’t know.”

“...What did you even _do_ to yourself? Those aren’t typical tentacles.”

“I only replaced my vital functions. Nerves and such. The idea was all of the power, with none of the drawbacks.” She pauses. “The… Idea was… Another prototype of my late fiance’s. But I refined it.” Of course, the bastard had wanted to play god. She’d only hoped for it to serve as a trump card.

“Interesting. You did a wonderful job fixing it up.” He pauses. “And… I’m sorry about that.”

“What?”

“Your fiance.”

Aguri sighs. “Don’t be. “Yanagisawa… Was a horrible person.”

“While I hate to throw words around like that so lightly... Perhaps.” Korosensei agrees. “I’m glad you finally realized you didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“Way too late.”

In some ways, that was what had pissed her off the most. She’d finally realized just how _horribly_ she’d been treated when it was too late to do anything about it. She’d wanted to scream and to cry and to fight back. But Yanagisawa was long gone, and she’d only had one other person to turn to.

“It’s never too late.” He reassures. “If you’re feeling and working through it now, then that means something.”

His pinprick eyes are surprisingly warm. They’d stopped looking like Yanagisawa’s dead eyes a long, long time ago.

How had she been so blind?

“...I guess.”

Silence.

“If I may make a request, Yukimura-”

“Aguri works just fine.” She interrupts.

His posture seems to relax. “If I may make a request, Aguri… If you survive this, will you look over them for me?”

“H-Huh!?” Aguri sputters.

“...Very soon, my tentacles will no longer be able to reach them. And I will no longer be able to protect them.” He muses. “...They need people who love them watching their backs.”

“You know I tried to _kill them,_ right?”

“And I know that wasn’t really you. You can do better.” He smiles. “You will.”

In some ways, they’d broken her heart, too. She’d spent nights tossing and turning over those kids. And when she’d finally, _finally_ managed to get out of that hospital room and come to save them…

They’d already fallen in love with him. He’d managed to become a better teacher than she ever could have envisioned. Better than she’d ever been. Seeing them have so much fun with the man who destroyed her life… It felt like a betrayal of the worst kind. And so she’d decided she wouldn’t save them. They’d clearly made their decision.

“...I’m just not sure about that, Korosensei.”

“Very well. No hard feelings. I just... Worry about them.” He turns his head towards the building. “...I meant it when I said they were my world. They taught me so much more than I ever could have taught them. It was a life-changing experience. I… Know I didn’t live up to your expectations, but from the bottom of my heart: Thank you for this year. It’s everything I’ve ever needed.”

He sounds just about ready to cry. It’s contagious. The fondness in his voice is undeniably genuine.

“...I didn’t mean it.”

He turns his head back her way. “Huh?”

“That you… That you failed those kids. That you… Failed me.” She admits. “...I was stupid and I was naive, but I was right. You made a wonderful teacher. You loved them with all your heart. And… They needed that more than anything. They’ve had… Pretty hard lives, you know.”

“Yeah. I know…”

“...They were so, so, insecure. But… You never gave up on them. You’re not a monster to them - You’re not a monster. They needed someone like you. More than they ever needed someone like me.”

_“Don’t say that!”_ Korosensei gasps.

“I’m not being self-derogatory. It’s just true. I… Couldn’t get through to them in that same way. And honestly? It frustrated me. To see you succeed where I couldn’t.”

“No, no. You touched them far more than you’re giving yourself credit for.” Korosensei pats her back. “...They talked about you  long after they thought you were gone. You inspired them. And you loved them, too. So don’t you ever imply it’s for the best I took your place.”

“Mmmm…” Aguri halfheartedly nods.

“...If I may admit something?” Korosensei says. “I was just trying to be you!”

_“E-Excuse me?”_

“I had no idea how to be a teacher, Aguri. I had no idea how to be a good person. So I always asked myself ‘What would Aguri do?’ Because… You had it figured out. I wanted to live up to you, to be a teacher - A person - Just like you. Because you changed my life… And I wanted to touch them in all the same ways you touched me.”

Aguri’s heart aches. All this time… He’d been trying to be just like her. He’d never once forgotten her. She’d believed he didn’t care. But each moment she’d attempted to crush his hopes and dreams, he’d only aspired to live up to hers.

She can’t hold the tears back for another minute longer.

It’s not that she hadn’t seen him be kind! She’d _seen_ why the students loved him. She’d seen that kind smile and she’d seen that boundless support. But she’d chosen to ignore it. Because she was sick of being hurt. Because she was sick of being mistreated. Because a long time ago, she’d seen something to love in someone horrible. Because she’d seen moments of respite, and even moments of genuine happiness. But she’d found them interlaced with moments of terror; Curled on the ground and kicked until her ribs _shattered._

Was it really so wrong, so dangerous, to wonder what went on behind closed doors? What sort of person hid behind a friendly smile?

...She supposes she still doesn’t know the answer. And now she never will. But Korosensei was not, and never had been Yanagisawa. And he’d never once intended to harm those kids, or her. She can see that now.

He sees her tears, and wipes her cheek with his tentacle. “Now, now. Now’s not the time to cry.”

“I messed up so _badly!_ I was so _horrible_ to you! Things… Things could have been so different...”

“I told you myself: You can’t change your past mistakes. But you can learn from them, and that’s what’s important. That’s all I’ve done. I suppose... In another world, things could have been very different. But… They’re not. We still have right now. So let’s treasure that moment.”

“I’ll… Try my best.”

“...Thank you. That’s all I ask. I know there’s so much more to say, so much more to do. But we simply don’t have time for that. So there’s no use spending this time stressing. If anything, I’m just happy I got to see you one last time.”

“...I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Nope! Nope! Remember? No stressing.” Korosensei chides. “I could say I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, but… You already know that one. At least, I hope. So what good would that do?”

Of course. Even back then, she’d known that. She’d remembered the heartbreak in The Reaper’s eyes as he cradled her close. It’s not that she hadn’t known he was _sorry._ It was that that regret meant nothing to her. It had come too late. Struck her as the reaction of a child losing his favorite toy. She’d deserved so, so much better than to die for the sake of his story. And she still believes that. She always will.

Now she just knows that he believes it, too.

“Hardly any, I guess.”

_“Ex-actly.”_

Silence, again and again.

Of course, they’d had their quiet moments in the past, too. They felt homely. Comfortable. Trusting and intimate. She’d lay on the ground and absentmindedly kick her legs behind her as she graded papers. Perhaps she’d hum a tune to break the silence, or pipe up with an occasional “Do you think this is a fair answer?” But the quiet had never once been discomforting.

Now it’s sharp and unfamiliar. A reminder that once she’d known this person, and now she never really will.

“...Thank you for saving Akari.” She finally says.

“No need to thank me. It’s as I told you: Simply a teacher’s job.”

“...I dunno. Most teachers don’t go all out enough to have a “What To Do For A Gut-Shot Student” Manual. Even I didn’t think _that_ one through.” She cracks.

He lets out an embarrassed ‘Eep!’ and scrambles to cover his face. “I- I simply wanted to take extra precautions! And it turns out it was for the best! You _never_ know what will happen!”

Aguri can’t help but chuckle. He’s gone pink, for Pete’s sake! “I guess not.” She admits. “You… Were really torn up over what happened to me, weren’t you?”

The blush fades from his face as he cranes his neck her way. “Of course so.” He murmurs. “Why wouldn’t I have been?”

...Aguri doesn’t have an answer to that.

She shrugs it off. “Sorry. It’s just been a weird year.”

“Indeed.” Korosensei agrees. “I wish it had been a more pleasant one for you. Your happiness never should have been traded for my own.”

Aguri nods. The Spear of Heaven’s glow is near-blinding, by now.

“We’re almost out of time.”

“We are.” Korosensei sighs. “As much as I hate to cut this off here, I must. I can’t take away what our kids have been training all year for.” His smile widens. “Let’s end this strange, strange year on an upbeat note. It’s graduation time.”

She’s been fighting for this moment all year, but suddenly she can’t see the upside.

“Will you grab them for me?” He asks. “I’d do it myself, but as you can see… I’m all tuckered out.”

"Of... Of course.” Aguri slowly gets to her feet. She heads towards the E-Class building, in a way she has many times before-- And she hesitates. She turns her head back his way. “Wait. Korosensei. One last thing.”

“Mmm?”

“...Do you hate me?”

_“ No. Never._ I’ll… Never know the full story of what happened, but… I can see where your anger came from. I couldn’t hold that against you.”

One last, drawn-out moment of quiet.

“Do you hate me?” He asks.

It takes her a moment to respond. “...No. I don’t think so.”

His smile widens, just barely. “I’m glad I met you, Aguri.”

“...You, too.”

With her heartbeat ringing in her ears, she peeks her head into the school and breaks the bad news.

“It’s time, everyone.”

The kids’ shoulders lower. With puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks, a few of them have already begun to sob. Akari seems to be staring through her. No-one moves.

“It’s… Time.” She repeats, with a sigh. “You don’t have long. So don’t let that laser take him out before you. You don’t want any regrets.”

They nod. “Alright. We’ve… Made our decision.”

Slowly, but surely the children march out of the building. Karasuma and Irina hang close, patting their backs and searching for words to say.

Akari hangs back, and tugs at Aguri’s hand.

“Wait ...What’s going to happen to you?”

“I think I’m going to die here.” She admits.

“No. _No--_ ” Akari disagrees. “There’s gotta be a way! Can… Can you remove the infected nerves? Or maybe you have your own ultimate defense form! Maybe Korosensei can find a way t-”

“I’m sorry. I’m gonna stop you there. There’s… No use getting your hopes up.”

Akari’s grip on her hand tightens. “I can’t just do nothing! I’m not giving up now.”

“...Akari, don’t do this.” Aguri commands. “I don’t want to see you hurt like this. Not any more than you’ve already been.” She places her other hand on top of Akari’s and squeezes. “Don’t worry for me. I… Don’t mind if I die here.”

**_“I do!”_ **

Akari tears herself away from Aguri with a wounded look. “How can you say that?” She asks. “How dumb can you be!? They’re lining up out there to kill my teacher! And it’s all my fault! If I’d stepped in - Done something - We could have saved him. If… If I lose my sister, too, I’ll… I’ll never forgive myself!”

Her lip trembles as she stares at Aguri. It’s a familiar desperation.

_‘Please don’t go.’_

...She’s put Akari through a lot. From allowing her to get wrapped up in her revenge quest, and letting her implant herself with tentacles, to forcing her to make an impossible choice between her teacher and sister. She’d even got her killed. And now… She’s led her up to losing the both of them. It’s not fair. Despite all her talk of love and despite all her feelings of righteousness, she’s undeniably hurt Akari. She... Never should have been involved in any of this. But now she is. And it’s too late to turn back now.

She kneels down and wraps her arms around her baby sister.

“It’s not your fault. It will **_never_ ** be your fault.” She promises. “...There’s a lot of people to blame for this, Akari. You can blame me, and you can blame Korosensei, and you can blame the government or the people who hurt us in the past. Or you can’t. That’s up to you. But _never_ blame yourself for this.” Akari buries her face in her shoulder as Aguri gently rocks her back and forth. “You were just a kid. You _are_ just a kid.”

“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have done something!”

“...It was an impossible choice to make. I never should have put that on your shoulders.”

“I’m the one who drove you to put that stuff in yourself...”

“You were not! That… Was selfish of me to pin on you. You didn’t abandon me. Never once. I… Was just being delusional. And cruel.”

“But there _had_ to be a better way--”

“...And there’s no use dwelling on it now.” She thinks back to Korosensei’s words. “Maybe… Things could have been different. But they weren’t. And you can’t go back and change that. All you can do is learn from it.”

Akari lets out a defeated whimper.

“...You did good. Don’t beat yourself up over your decisions. You’ve grown into a beautiful, kind, and brave young woman. I’m sorry I didn’t notice until now. No matter what happens, you’ve made me, and him, _super_ proud.”

Her shoulder’s beginning to grow wet with tears.

“...Listen. I’m sorry Akari. I’m sorry for putting you in harm’s way. And I’m sorry for making you cry. Who knows how things will turn out? Maybe… I’ll survive. We don’t know. A lot of times, no-one knows what’s going to happen… If I do, how about you let me make it up to you?” She asks. “...I… Don’t know how.” She still doesn’t know how she’d even begin to ask for someone to make this all up to her. “But… I can certainly try. How about we start with going out and grabbing some ice cream? And I won’t get on you, no matter how many sweets you pile on it.” She forces a smile and leans away from Akari. “Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Akari blinks away tears. Aguri reaches out a thumb and wipes them away. “...Yeah. That sounds nice.” Akari admits.

“Then it’s a promise. Try to focus on that.”

Akari gives a tiny nod. “I’ll tr-”

“Kayano! C’mon!” A voice calls from outside. “We don’t have much time!”

Akari’s shoulders tense, but Aguri ushers her on her way. “...You don’t want to miss this. Go on. I won’t mind.”

Akari hesitates. “...You should come too.”

Aguri’s lip purses. “I don’t really deserve to be there, Akari.” She’s not sure she can even handle it.

“He wants you to be there. And so do you.” She grabs Aguri’s hand and tugs it. “You don’t want any regrets either, right?”

...Yeah. She doesn’t. She’s not sure she can handle a single one more. With heavy hearts and clasped hands, the sisters make their way over to where Korosensei lays.

The students have him pinned down. They left a spot open for Akari. She kneels down by his side and firmly presses his head to the ground.

Aguri sits down next to her and watches.

He gives her a glance, and unfurls one last tentacle, seemingly out of nowhere. “You may as well help the kids if you’re going to be here.” He suggests. It’s a tiny, useless little thing. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had a hundred more of those hidden under his coat. It’s clear he doesn’t need that one to be held down.

...He’s offering her support, even now.

Looking back on it, The Reaper wasn’t a great person. She’d been right about that. But… He’d been working on it all year long. And against all expectations - _Against all odds_ \- He’d become as kind as he was strong.

...Yeah. She was wrong. And somehow even that feels okay. That ‘hand’ held out - It seems to say “Don’t sweat it! It’s just another learning experience.”

She takes his tentacle and grasps it tight. The least she can do is offer her reassurance back.

He looks over his students. “Your grip is a bit weak.” He comments. “Really put your heart into this.”

Their eyes go wide. Shaking and too tired to fight back, they tighten their grip. Aguri reaches her free hand to place it on Akari’s tense shoulder.

“Your… Heart is under your tie, right?” Megu asks with a quivering voice. Korosensei gives a slight nod. “...Who’s going to-”

There’s a long moment of silence before Nagisa speaks up. “Please- Please let me.” He begs.

“We got no complaints.” Terasaka agrees.

“You’re the head of this class, Nagisa.” Karma tosses on with a smile.

Nagisa returns a smile of his own. Aguri sees through it in an instant. With a hurting heart, he climbs onto Korosensei’s chest and clasps his blade tight.

“...Sensei…”

“Nagisa, you can stab down through my tie. The very day I received this tie, I managed to put a hole in it.” He admits. “...I left it like that. This, too, is an important connection.”

Aguri winces. Indeed it is. A symbol of the hurt they’ve shared. The sorrow they’ve caused. And the brief happiness they’d managed to bring each other despite it all. It’s a gift, but more importantly than that, it's a reminder.

She duly notes she’s shaking too.

“Ah, but first, I have to say my goodbyes to these teachers.” He looks to where Irina and Karasuma stand, some twenty feet away. Karasuma can’t even bring himself to look at them. “Miss Irina, are you sure you don’t want to join in? This is your chance at that bounty.”

“I’ve… Gotten enough already. So many ties, and so much experience - From you and the children both. This assassination… Is the bond between you and those kids.”

Aguri almost calls out. Apologizes. But she knows it wouldn’t mean much. She’s intruding enough as is. Irina’s words make that clear.

“And Karasuma-sensei...” Korosensei smiles. “You, too, have made these students who they are today. Please continue to offer your guidance.”

He gives a curt nod. “You may have caused me no end of trouble, but this is one year I’ll never forget. Farewell, Korosensei.”

“Yes…” Korosensei’s smile widens.

These aren’t bad people. And these aren’t naive people. She wants to tell them to hold on to that selflessness with all they have. That… Love isn’t bloodlust, nor is it weakness. It’s strength. If nothing else, it had been that sheer dedication to each other and to those kids that got the two of them and Korosensei through this. Through each impossible situation, and each hopeless moment.

Who knows. They might not last. They probably won’t! But having a rock when you most need it is important. So… She hopes they’ll know to always be thankful for that.

She turns to Korosensei. “...Yeah. I think those kids are in good hands. Don’t you worry.”

“And, Aguri...” He muses. “There’s no escaping this. You served as a teacher, too, after all.” He lets out a chuckle. “...I suppose we’ve already had our talk. But I must simply thank you once more. This year has been… Everything to me. I’m glad it didn’t end with me fighting the very one who kicked it all off. You have a good heart. Never give up on that. And do keep my offer in mind, okay?”

“...I… Will.”

“Then this is goodbye.” And with such a sense of finality, he turns to his kids. There’s still so much she has to say - So much she wants to _fix_. But she can’t distract him. Not here. She wouldn’t dare.

“Now then, class. It’s about that time. Twenty-four hours wouldn’t be enough time for me to say my goodbyes to each of you in turn. We can’t talk long. So instead… I’ll take attendance one last time. Please look me in the eye, and answer in a loud voice.” He instructs. “...Once you’ve all responded, you can kill me.”

What follows is intimate and raw. Calling out each name in a firm tone. As each student responds, their voices waver. But his reassuring smile never once fades, even as tears begin to trail down their cheeks. Not a single student remains forgotten. He calls out to them all as they begin to weep. And even through sobs, no-one fails to scream out their name.

It’s unfair and it’s sickening. They’re just kids. But there’s nothing they can do to change this fate. And so, with a loving compassion, he simply acknowledges them all one last time.

“It was a really… Really fun year. I’m so happy… To be killed by you all.” Korosensei muses. “From one traveler to another… A yell - For all of life!”

Nagisa raises the blade, his eyes dark. With quivering hands he attempts to hover it over to Korosensei’s chest. He grimaces, every eye on him as she shakes and whimpers.

And then, a shift. He lets out a frustrated scream and wails into the night. With so, so much on his shoulders, he holds the blade overhead, eyes dark. He lets out his resentment and sorrows; His rage at a world that forced him into this situation in the first place. A world Aguri is partially responsible for…

It’s a relatable feeling.

Korosensei reaches out to touch his neck. His demeanor changes in an instant.

“...Don’t kill me feeling like _that._ ” He insists. “...Calm yourself. Smile.”

Nagisa takes one shaky breath in, then out. As his whimpers turn into choked up sobs, tears begin to stream down his face. Sniveling and sniffling and trembling, he continues to grasp the knife.

...Better to feel sad than angry, she supposes. Her heart aches as well, but somehow she feels more at peace now than ever.

His lip quivers as he attempts to collect himself.

“...Don’t force him to smile--” She starts to speak up, but he turns to her with his widest smile despite it all.

“...No. I’m happy to give him the death he’d want. It’s the least I can do for him, after everything. He made me happy all year.” He tilts his head and steels himself, smile never once faltering, even as tears drip down his chin.

...It sort of reminds her of someone else’s unwavering smile.

“Goodbye, Korosensei!” Nagisa says.

“...Yes. Goodbye.”

And maybe _that’s_ what Korosensei had fostered in those kids. A sense of happiness and kindness. He’d dressed it up in a fresh coat of paint as ‘bloodlust’, but he’d never once let harm come to the children, or let them dish it out upon each other. And maybe, that, which he’d embodied, was who he’d become: The journey of a cold-blooded killer, hurting so deeply inside, to someone who only wished to smile and see others smile.

...She wishes she could have gotten to know that Korosensei. But despite every hesitation, and despite every wish, Aguri doesn’t cry out, or delay one more moment. Instead, she musters the biggest, fakest, smile she can manage; And before she knows it, something about it almost feels genuine.

Korosensei dies quickly and painlessly, surrounded by people who truly love him. He fades into a beautiful burst of light and drifts towards the crescent sky. The last time Aguri saw him, he went above and beyond to make her and her lost kids smile. They hadn’t truly found closure, or said goodbyes they meant. But they’d done something somewhat close. And watching his yellow light shine brightly on everything he loved, she thinks that’s enough.

She finds herself holding thin air as his tentacle flickers away.

Sobs echo across the night. Nagisa collapses onto the ground and bawls on top of his cloak. One by one, the kids join in, covering their faces and wailing. They bury their heads in each others’ chests and scream in despair. Aguri blinks away her own tears as she turns to Akari, hands quaking.

Akari clings to her and weeps. Aguri hugs her tight, and gently brings her fingers through her hair.

“...What…” Her voice wavers. “...What you kids did tonight was very brave.”

“We don’t need to hear that from you right now!” Itona snaps, rubbing at his eyes. “It wasn’t brave! It was _unfai-_ ”

“...Itona.-” Isogai reaches out a hand and firmly places it on his shoulder. “...This isn’t what Korosensei would have wanted.”

“I…” Itona whimpers. “I know…! I just--” He breaks down into sobs. “I didn’t want him to die…” He breathlessly whimpers.

...She hadn’t, either.

“I know. But… I… Think you really made his life worth something.”

_“It was worth something as is!”_

Aguri sighs. “...You know that’s not what I meant.” She pauses and looks for the right thing to say. Something just like he’d have. “Listen, Itona. I… Know with how things ended here, you might think you’re obligated to find peace with me like Korosensei did. But you’re not. I hurt you. And… That’s never okay.” She had some people she’d never forgive herself. “...Use that anger, alright? Use it to be better than me, and kinder than me, and _happier_ than me. Because that’s what Korosensei would want.” She pauses. “...He told me himself. You were his pride and joy. All of you.”

Itona scowls and lets out a low “Mmm.” A few kids begin to cry harder.

Irina and Karasuma make their way over to the sobbing kids. They help them to their feet and offer them a shoulder to cry on.

“I’m not sure if you saw, but the goofy octopus left one last gift for you in there.”

Detached and unfocused, the kids begin to make their way into the building. Looking for something - Anything - To distract themselves. Their eyes are blank.

Aguri hangs back outside. Whatever’s going on in there isn’t her place. It’s something from him to them. All she can do now is wait. Akari stays by her side.

“...You should go, Akari.” She insists.

“...This might be the last time I ever get to see you. I’m not giving that up.”

...She wants to argue against that: Tell Akari how traumatizing and bloody this will be. But remembering how desperately she’d begged for one last chat with Korosensei, she keeps her damn mouth shut.

A figure plops down next to Akari.

“Nagisa?”

He’s still looking pretty disheveled. Eyes puffy and red, he wipes his cheek. “Mmm.”

“...You should go with everyone else.” Akari admits.

“What sort of friends would that make us?” Another voice pipes up as Karma makes himself comfortable next to Nagisa. “All he’s got in there are dumb books, anyways. It can wait.”

Nagisa sniffles. “...They’re not dumb.” He snaps. “...But we figured Kayano came first. Korosensei would agree.”

Aguri sighs. He looks so exhausted. “This… Isn’t really your responsibility to handle. You don’t need to do this.”

“...We want to.” Nagisa says.

She knows there’s no way of getting through to someone like that. “...Alright. Try not to be too needlessly selfless, though. Okay? You need to take care of yourself, too. When you hurt yourself, you end up hurting the people you love, too. And I know Akari doesn’t want that for you.”

Karma’s nose wrinkles. “Since when did you become a philosopher?”

“...I’ve just had a lot to reflect on over the past... Half hour?” She admits. “Oh man. It feels way longer than that.”

“...Yeah. That’s just how things are with Korosensei.” Nagisa says. He shuffles uncomfortably.

Akari’s quiet. “...’m glad you came out here for me.”

“Just what friends do.” Nagisa gives a smile.

Sometimes self-sacrifice can pay off, too. “...Don’t… Think I’m telling you to shun kindness, though. Okay? Never shun kindness.” It’s like walking a delicate tightrope. “...I’m glad you came out here for her, too. I know she’ll repay that kindness when you need it most.”

“...Oh. You don’t need to tell me that. I know.”

Akari’s made some truly wonderful companions. She… Hopes that even if everything crashes and burns tonight that they’ll get her through it. At the very least, she can certainly tell they’ll try.

“...You’re a good person, Nagisa.”

“Oh. And I’m not?” Karma whines. “I see how it is.”

“Once you genuinely left a thumbtack on my chair.”

“You should have _seen_ the stuff I left for Korosensei.” His shit-eating grin widens. Akari stifles a laugh.

She turns her head his way. “...Hey. Did you mean it? When you said Korosensei saved your life?”

Karma jolts. He’s silent.

“You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I mean - _Yeah._ The man picked up on everything. Even things you didn’t notice.”

Aguri frowns. “...There were a lot of things I didn’t notice.”

“Yeah.” Karma matter-of-factly agrees.

A mean spirited delinquent. That’s what she’d come to characterize him as over the past year. What had she thought before? Someone strong. Someone good-willed. Someone who stood up for others. But someone mad at authority. Someone lashing out. Someone _hurting._

“...You’re a good kid, too, Karma. Tacks and all.” She admits. “...And I mean that. You’ve grown. A lot.”

He gives a satisfied smile. “Whatever you say, teach.”

Akari’s holding her close.

“...You too, Akari. No… No matter what happens here, I’ll always be rooting you on. You gave my life light, even when I’d given everything else up.”

“...Don’t talk about it like it’s already over.” Akari whimpers.

Looking up at the bright red light that pierces the night, Aguri figures it just about is.

“...I told you. I don’t know what’s going to happen. And… If things go horribly wrong, then… I hope you can still find a way to be happy. That’s all I want for you.”

“...’ll try.” Akari murmurs.

Karma senses the tense atmosphere. “You know, you’re pretty different from last year too, Yukimura.”

“...Yeah. I think we all are.” She pauses. “...He was, too. Korosensei. A year ago he tried to debate the ethics of controlled serial murder with me.”

“...That sorta sounds like something he’d still do!” Nagisa admits, stifling a laugh. It quickly fades “Well. Would have done.”

The atmosphere falls somber.

“...I miss him” Akari says.

“I think we all do.” Karma agrees.

“Even you, sis?” She glances at Aguri.

“...Even me.”

“Why did you want to kill him so bad?” Nagisa asks. “I mean - He seemed super upset about what happened.”

“And that didn’t necessarily make it okay.” Aguri sighs. “...Listen, it’s a long story. One I don’t have time for. I was hurting. And… I took it out on him. It’s as simple as that. And that doesn’t make it okay, either. But… Korosensei wasn’t a bad person. He wasn’t perfect, either, but he didn’t deserve to die. He spent his entire year making your lives bright, and I spent it making you miserable.”

“...Eh. I’d argue this isn’t too miserable.” Karma leans back, hands behind his head. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that to get to us, miss.”

“...You didn’t make me miserable.” Akari adds on.

“That still doesn’t make how I treated you okay.”

“None of this is okay.” Akari points out. “If… If…” She hesitates. “...If you die here, I want you to know I’m not mad. You did bad things, but that doesn’t make you a bad person.”

...Did bad things, but not a bad person. Yeah. That just about hits the nail on the head. For the both of them.

“...Alright. Thanks, Akari.”

“It’s the least I can do.” Akari leans on her. “...Love you.”

“...You too.”

The crimson gleam hangs overhead, more intense than ever. By now, Korosensei’s light has completely faded. And with about a minute left, all Aguri can do is wait.

Oh, how the tables have turned. Despite it all, it turns out she can only strive to be like Korosensei. Either as someone who can have the same profound, kind impact on these brilliant minds, or as someone who can disappear in such a beautiful, beloved light.

**Author's Note:**

> HOO BOY HERE IT IS. The longest thing I’ve written in a WHILE. And I churned it all out in just about a month! Feeling pretty proud of THAT accomplishment.
> 
> Shortly after I watched Assclass, the concept came to me for a Villain Aguri AU. I threw some ideas for it out on Twitter, and ya’ll seemed to enjoy it, so I decided to write a fic. I had NO idea what sort of scope it’d go to, but this is wilder than I ever could have imagined. An 18k words oneshot! Holy fuck, man.
> 
> While I’m not entirely happy with all of it, namely the quickly shifting characterization of Aguri herself (Man oh man she’s been through a lot), there’s a lot of it I DO enjoy. I had a ton of fun putting up parallels between Aguri, her abuser, and Korosensei. I made them all reflect each other in a lot of ways, and it’s a fun testament to how the ways you hurt or help other people can change them. I’m also particularly proud of the bit where the kids stand up for Korosensei. I listened to His Theme from Toby Fox’s masterpiece Undertale (2015) (We’re finally done calling that cringy, right?), while writing it, and just about fucking sobbed because of how deeply the entire experienced touched me.
> 
> In general, music was a MASSIVE help to writing this. Sooner rather than later I’ll be churning out a playlist for this, but some of the biggest honorable mentions are “The Wolf” by Siames, “Dog Teeth” by Nicole Dollanger, “Youth” by Daughter, “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”, by Stars, “Love Love Love” and “No Children” by The Mountain Goats, and “I’ll Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie. If you enjoyed the fic, I’d definitely suggest giving them a listen while thinking about it! I can guarantee your eyes will nut tears, too!
> 
> You may think the title of this fic is deep, and in some ways it sorta is. It’s almost fake deep. I’m gonna be pretty real with you right now: I stole it from an episode of Bojack Horseman, because that’s just what you do when naming fake deep fanfiction.
> 
> Planned obsolescence is - Er- Sorta the practice of making things with a deadline in mind, so you’ll replace them in the future. The objective definition, at least, is mostly with technology. It’s what Apple does with their phones. They design them to break in a few years, so you’ll have to buy the latest version. In said episode of Bojack, a character jokes “Planned obsolescence, huh? Sounds like a pretty good description of my last marriage”, before describing a relationship she’d rushed into solely because her and her husband both needed someone. They really were in love, but they were fundamentally incompatible people with fundamentally incompatible needs and traumas.
> 
> Annddddd I’d argue that sort of definition for planned obsolescence fits… Several things in this fanfiction. The way both Aguri and Korosensei came into this fight planning to lose their lives by the end of it, and one of them indeed did, and so may the other. (Even if not in the ways they expected). The one year Korosensei was given, and how his entire future was tossed aside for the sake of science. He was never planned to last. A temporary existence. And, of course, Aguri and Korosensei’s relationship that led them to this point. Quite frankly nothing was ever going to work out between a serial killer and a lonely abused woman, even from the start, and even if they had found a nonviolent, happy end. They both probably knew that. But in that lab a year ago they forged that bond anyways, because that’s what they needed at the time. And it led them here, even if they sorta always knew it would.
> 
> Writing this was actually a huge learning experience and a great test on seeing if I could get myself writing on a schedule. By the end of this I was writing 1k words a day, every day, and I’m super proud of that! It’s given me the confidence to start my longterm fic (Aka finally something that’s not a oneshot), and I hope you’ll all look forward to it! All I can say is that it’s about Nagisa 15 years after Assclass, and involves the reincarnation of an… Old friend. It’s gonna be a fun ride (And nowhere NEAR as heartbreaking as this. Although it’ll certainly have it’s moments), and I hope ya’ll will be there for it!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed my Aguri Sadstuck lmao! I had a lot of fun writing her experiencing some of that sadness and bitterness and self-pity she never got to experience in canon. As cruel as Aguri was here, It’s What She Deserves.
> 
> QUICK EDIT: Here's the playlist!: https://8tracks.com/jdphobe/hand-in-unloveable-hand


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